Apparatus for advancing and positioning articles

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for advancing articles along a path of travel and for selectively positioning the articles at various positions along the path comprises a vertical guideway for guiding a stack of articles and a set of claws disposed around the guideway releasably engage with the articles to successively position them in an initial starting position. A collapsible linkage extends into engagement with the article while in the initial position and the linkage collapses to effect advancement of the article to a working position. The linkage is alternately extended and collapsed by a reciprocatory motor. During the advancement of each article from the initial position to the working position, the article engages with the preceding article and pushes same to another position along the path of travel. A lifting device successively lifts the articles from the other position and raises them along another vertical guideway. A set of pawls disposed around this guideway releasably engage with the lifted articles to hold them in a final terminal position.

United States Patent 11 1 Yamashita July 22, 1975 [75] Inventor:Kameshiro Yamashita, Tokyo,

Japan [73] Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Seikosha, Japan [22] Filed: Mar.21, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 343,499

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Mar. 21, 1972 Japan 47-27447 [52]U.S. Cl 515/59 R; 53/252; 214/1 BB; 254/122 [51] Int. Cl B651) 57/20[58] Field of Search 53/59 R, 252, 251, 250, 53/249; 254/122; 74/521;214/1 BB, 1 BT [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,834,1655/1959 Bonebrake 53/252 X 2,896,384 7/1959 Carlsen et a1. 53/250 X3,077,950 2/1963 Brown 53/390 X 3,165,869 l/l965 Cox 53/252 X 3,259,3697/1966 Gridley 254/122 3,343,335 9/1967 Pearson 53/252 X 3,370,8452/1968 Newcomb... 214/1 BT 3,421,283 I/l969 Schieser 53/250 X 6/1970Ferguson 74/521 X 5/1973 Kramer et a1. 53/59 R Primary Examiner-J. M.Meister Attorney, Agent, or FirmRobert E. Burns; Emmanuel J. Lobato;Bruce L. Adams [57] ABSTRACT An apparatus for advancing articles along apath of travel and for selectively positioning the articles at variouspositions along the path comprises a vertical guideway for guiding astack of articles and a set of claws disposed around the guidewayreleasably engage with the articles to successively position them in aninitial starting position. A collapsible linkage extends into engagementwith the article while in the initial position and the linkage collapsesto effect advancement of the article to a working position. The linkageis alternately extended and collapsed by a reciprocatory motor. Duringthe advancement of each article from the initial position to the workingposition, the article engages with the preceding article and pushes sameto another position along the path of travel. A lifting devicesuccessively lifts the articles from the other position and raises themalong another vertical guideway. A set of pawls disposed around thisguideway releasably engage with the lifted articles to hold them in afinal terminal position.

4Claims, 8 Drawing Figures APPARATUS FOR ADVANCING AND POSITIONINGARTICLES 7 The present invention relates generally to'an appartus foradvancingand positioning articles along a path of travel and moreparticularly,relates to such an apparatus especially suitable forsuccessively advancing boxes into a working position wherein the boxesmay be charged with products manufactured .byautomated equipment. l

Conventionally, the products manufactured with press machines, automaticlathes zor other automated equipement are usually received in-boxes andthen manually removed from the boxes at,a. later time. Even in the caseof an automatic discharge system, such a system usually employs aplurality 'of sectoral boxes arranged on a turn table so that the:sectoral boxes are charged with products while the turn table rotates.Such a system is disadvantageous whenthe products are very numerous orso large that the'turntable must be unusually heavy since specialfast-acting or heavyduty drive systems must be used- Moreover, suchsystems are disadvantageous because .they occupy too much working area.

It is therefore a primary feature of the present invention to provide aproducts discharging apparatus comprising vertical positioning means forsupporting a plurality of boxes in a supporting position and forlowering the boxes on-by-one to an initial starting position, and atransverse positioning means for transversely advancing the boxes in aone-by-one manner'from the initial position to a working positionwherein the hoses are charged with products.

A primary object of the present invention is to eliminate thedisadvantages mentioned above by providing an apparatus forautomatically advancing and positioning a great number of productshaving a larger dimension by weight than has been practicable with theprior art apparatuses. I

The above objects" as well as other objects and characteristic featuresof the present invention will become apparent upon a reading ofthe-following description and claims when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings. in which: r 1

FIG. 1 is an elevational side view, partly in section, of one embodimentof the apparatus of-'t'he"present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 with some parts removedfor clarity;

FIG. 3 is a right side view of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4(a), 4(band 4(a) areexplanatory views showing the operation ofthe claws of the vertical positioning means A;

FIG. is an explanatory view showing the operation of the claws of theretaining means'D; and

FIG. 6 is a wiring schematic of an electric circuit for controlling theoperation of the apparatus of the present invention. t

Now one embodiment of the-present invention will be described withreference to the drawings. A frame assembly 2 is supported on'abasetabl'e 8 and forms a guideway system for guiding a series- 0f"receiving boxes 1 along the frame assembly 2 to 'aplu'rality ofdifferent positions. As seen in FIG. 1, the boxes 1 are initially'pos'itioned in the righthand guidewayan'd fall by gravity to an initialposition 2a. Each receiving box 1 has a flange 4 extending around itsupper periphery and the flanges cooperate with a set of pawl means 3,25to effect vertical positioning of the boxes in both the righthand andlefthand guideways.

Vertical positioning means A is provided along the righthand guideway tovertically lower the boxes 1 in succession to initial position 2a. Thevertical positoining means A comprises brackets 5, 5a mounted on theframe assembly and rods 6, 6a rotatably supported by the brackets 5, 5a.A pair of claws 3, 3 are affixed to each of the rods 6, 6a and each claw3 is provided with an upper engaging pawl 3a and a lower engaging pawl31). Links 7, 7a are connected to the rods 6, 6a from the brackets 5, 5aand the links are respectively pivotally connected through levers 12,12a to driving rod 11. A reciprocatory fluid motor is connected to therod 11 to drive same and the motor comprises an air cylinder 9 mountedon the base table 8 and a ram 10 slidably mounted in the cylinder andconnected at one end to the driving rod 11.

When the air cylinder 9 is operated to move the ram 10 upwards, the rods6, 6a are angularly displaced due to'the coaction of the driving rods11, levers 12, 12a and links 7, 7a to swing or pivot the claws 3upwardly as shown by the arrow in FIG. 4(a). Then the upper engagingpawls 3a disengage from the flange 4a of the receiving box 1a whereuponthe box falls down a short distance by its own weight and the falling ofthe box is interrupted when the lower engaging pawls 3b engage theflange 4a as shown in FIG. 4(b). When the ram 10 retracts into thecylinder 9, the claws 3 swing downwardly so that the engaging pawls 3bdisengage from the flange 4a. The receiving box la is no longersupported by the'vertical positioning means A and falls down intoposition 2b and the flange 4b of the receiving box 1b above the box 1afalls into engagement with the upper engaging pawls 3a. Therefore, thenext successive receiving box lb becomes supported by the verticalpositioning means A as shown in FIG. 4(c).

A transverse positioning means B coacts with the boxes which are movedinto position 2b and effects successive movement of the boxes along ahorizontal guideway. The transverse positioning means B comprises acollapsible and extendable linkage, shown as lazy-tongs 13 mounted onthe base table 8. The left end portion of the linkage 13 is fixed, whilethe right end portion of the linkage has pins 14, 14 which areengageable with the right side of each receiving box 1. The

linkage 13 is actuated by a reciprocatory fluid motor comprising a ram16 of an air cylinder 15. A rod 17 interconnects the ram 16 and thelinkage 13 to extend and retract the linkage in response to operation ofthe air cylinder 15.

In this manner, when the air cylinder 15 is operated to advance the ram16 to the left, the linkage 13 engages the box 1 by means of the pins14, 14 and the linkage contracts to the position 13 to move the pins topositions 14', 14 as shown by chain lines in FIG. 2. Accordingly, thereceiving box 1 is transferred to a products feeding position 2c. Whenthe ram 16 retracts into the cylinder the linkage 13 is restored to itsoriginal position.

At the time of the return motion of the linkage, there is no receivingbox 1 in the position 2b and the next receiving box is still retained inthe position 2a. The pins 14, 14 can therefore return to their originalpositions, without interruption. After pins 14, 14 return to theiroriginal positions, the cylinder 9 is again operated to advance thereceiving box 1 in the position 2a down to the position 2b in the samemanner described above.

A lid 18 is mounted above the products feeding position 2c and the openend of a feed pipe 19 for feeding products from a press machine (notshown in the drawings) is fitted into a hole in the lid 18. Thereceiving box which is in the position 20 is then charged with productsthrough the feed pipe 19.

When the receiving box 1 has been filled with products, the cylinder 15is operated to contract the linkage 13. As a result the receivng box inthe position 2b and thereby the receiving box in the products feedingposition 20 are transferred one space to the left, and the receiving boxfilled with products reaches the discharge position 2d at the base ofthe lefthand guideway.

The charged receiving box transferred to the discharge position 2d isthen lifted by elevating means C which comprises a lift 22 connected toa ram 21 of a cylinder 20. The receiving box 1 filled with products isautomatically placed on the lift 22 when the box is moved to position2d. When the cylinder 20 is operated to extend the ram 21, the lift 22rises with the receiving box supported thereon.

The receiving box 1 is lifted to a position 22 and is temporarilyretained in the position by a retaining means D. The retaining means Dcomprises brackets 23, 23a mounted to the frame assembly 2 and a pair ofrods 24, 24a are pivotally supported by the brackets 23, 23a and a setof pawls 25 are mounted on the rods 24, 24a. A set of retaining pawls26, 26a are also mounted on the rods 24, 24a. The ends of the pawls 26,26a abut against the frame assembly 2 and the ends of flat springs 27,2711 respectively bias the pawls 26, 26a as shown in FIG. 5. The otherends of the springs 27, 27a are affixed to the frame assembly 2.

Referring now to FIG. 5, when a receiving box is raised by the action ofthe cylinder 20 as mentioned above, the pawls 25 engage with the flange4c of the receiving box 10 and the pawls are pivoted clockwise by theflange as the flange as the box is raised. The retaining pawl 26, 26aalso pivot clockwise against the springs 27, 27a. When the flange 4c haspassed the pawls 25, the retaining pawls 26, 26a are pushed by thesprings 27, 27a in a counterclockwise direction till they are stopped bythe frame assembly 2 and the pawls 25 also pivot counterclockwise andmove up under the flange 40'. Then when the ram 21 retracts to bring thelift 22 down, the receiving box 10 is held by the pawls 25 at theelevated position 22.

By the above-mentioned operation, the receiving box 1 is transferredfrom the initial position 2a to the final elevated position 22. The boxmay then be taken out manually from the position 2e or may be removedautomatically by means of a belt conveyor or the like.

' One embodiment of an electric circuit for controlling the actuation ofthe apparatus will now be described with reference to FIG. 6. A pair ofpower source terminals 32, 33 are connected to an electrical powersource and a push button 34 is pushed to close the circuit whereupon apilot lamp 35 is lighted to indicate that the circuit is ready foroperation. At the starting time, the receiving box 1 which has beenintroduced from the upper part of the righthand guideway is supported atthe initial position 2a by the vertical positioning means A. A manualswitch 36 is then closed to light an indicating lamp 37 to indicate thata box is in the initial position 2a. Then a switch 38 for controllingthe vertical positioning means A is closed to flow current through asolenoid 39.

The solenoid 39 controls the supplying and exhausting of motive fluid tothe cylinders 9, 20. When the cylinders 9, 20 commence operating, thereis no receiving box in the discharge position 2d so that the lift 22initially moves up and down without lifting a box. The operation of thecylinder 9 pivots the pawl 3, 3a so that the receiving box 1 drops fromthe initial position 2a to the position 2b and then a switch 28 isclosed. When a switch 38 is opened and a switch 40 is closed. currentflows through a solenoid 41 which controls the application of motivefluid to the cylinder 15. The cylinder 15 then operates to contract thelinkage l3 and transfer the receiving box to the products feedingposition 2c. Then the switch 40 is again opened and the swithc 38 isclosed and the next receiving box is transferred to the position 2b andthe switch 28 is closed.

Then, as the switch 30 together with manual switch 36 are opened and anautomatic switch 42 is closed an indicating lamp 43 is lighted.Subsequently the products formed by a press machine (not shown) areintroduced through the feed pipe 19 into the receiving box which is inthe products feeding position 2c. A counter (not shown) may be employedfor counting the products and generating an output signal when apredetermined number of products has been counted and this output signalcan then be used to close a switch 44. When the receiving box 1 reachesthe position 2b, the switch 28 is closed as mentioned above, and aswitch 30a for affirming that a receiving box has reached the dischargeposition 211 is closed.

Further, a switch 45a controlled by a timer (not shown) is normallyclosed and opens after current has flowed for a period of time set bythe timer, but then immediately closes. In this manner, the current fromthe power source passes through switches 30a, 44, 28 to actuate a relay46, when then closes switches 46a and 46b. The switch 46a permits theself-sustaining operation of the relay 46 while the switch 46b is closedto pass current to the solenoid 41. Therefore, the cylinder 15 isoperated to transfer the two receiving boxes lo cated at the positions2b and 20 to the left.

When the leading receiving box 1 arrives at the discharge position 2d,the switch 30a is opened and the other switch 30b is closed. As theswitch 30a opens, the self-sustaining switch 46a opens and the relay 46becomes deenergized whereupon the switch 46b opens so that no currentflows through the solenoid 41. When the linkage l3 retracts, the switch29 for detecting the retraction of the transverse positioning means B isclosed. A switch 31 for detecting the lifting of the receiving box 1 isnormally closed. The switch 45b is controlled like the switch 45a by thetimer and is normally closed, and thus when current flows continuouslyfor a predetermined period, the switch 45b is opened but immediately andautomatically returns to the closed state.

The power source current passed through switches 30b, 29, 31 to energizethe relay 47 which operates to close the switches 47a, 47b. The switch47a permits the self-sustaining operation of the relay 47. When theswitch 47b closes, the power source current flows through the solenoid39 to actuate the cylinders 9, 20. ln-this case, since a receiving box 1filled with products is located also at the discharge position 2d, thecylinder 9 operates to transfer a receiving box to the position 2b whilethe cylinder 20 operates to lift a receiving box in the dischargeposition 2d to the final elevated position 2e and the box is retained inthe position 2e by the retaining means D. When the receiving box arrivesat the final position 22, the switch 31 is opened to interrupt theenergization of the relay 47, and then switches 47a and 47b are openedso that current does not flow through the solenoid 39.

When the next receiving box 1 which is located in feeding position 20 isfilled with a predetermined number of products, the switch 44 is closedand the aforementioned cycle of operation is repeated whereby thereceiving boxes are successively charged with products and transferredto a final position wherein they may be removed, from the apparatus.

If trouble is encountered during the operation of the apparatus suchthat the switch 45a or 45b flows current longer than a predeterminedtime period (normally 5-6 seconds) as determined by the timer, the timerwill operate to open the switch 45aand close the switch 450. Switches45a and 45b are once opened and then automatically closed, but thisinterim opening stops the action of the relay 46 or 47 so that switches46a, 46b or 47a, 47b are opened to interrupt the action of thecorresponding cylinder. When the switch 450 closes, a warning lamp 48lights to indicate this malfunctioning of the apparatus.

A switch which is operated by a timer may be used in place of the switch44 operated by a counter. In such a case, when the predetermined timeperiod set by the timer elapses, the switch is closed and during thispreset time period, the products are received in the receiving box.

As described hereinbefore, according to the present invention, a seriesof receiving boxes are successively charged with products and thensuccessively shifted to another location. Moreover, receiving boxeshaving a special shape are not necessary in practicing the presentinvention and instead, the usual square receiving boxes may be employed.In addition, a counter permits one receiving box to admit only apredetermined number of products, and a timer prevents the transversepositioning means from continuing to work for an abnormally long period.Furthermore, when a vertical positioning means is employed, a largenumber of receiving boxes may be piled together to minimize the workingspacev 1 claim:

1. Apparatus for advancing articles along a path and selectivelypositioning the articles at various positions along the path comprising:

first means receptive of a plurality of articles during use of theapparatus for successively positioning the articles in an initialstarting position, said first means comprising means defining a verticalguideway aligned with said initial starting position and receivingtherein during use of the apparatus a vertical stack of articles forguiding the articles vertically downward, a set of claws disposed aroundthe periphery of said guideway and jointly engageable with an article insaid guideway to support said article as well as all the remainingarticles stacked thereupon, means mounting said sete of claws forpivotal movement together in synchronism to disengage from said articleand engage the article stacked thereon thereby allowing the disengagedarticle to drop along said guidway into said initial starting position,and means for effecting synchronous pivotal movement of said set ofclaws;

second means coacting with said first means for successively advancingthe articles one-by-one from said initial starting position along a pathto a working position and then after a given time delay successivelyadvancing the articles one-by-one from said working position along thepath to another position, said second means comprising extendable andcollapsible engaging means for releasably engaging with an articlelocated in said initial position, means mounting said engaging means formovement along said path from said initial starting position to saidworking position, and actuating means for intermittently extending andcollapsing said engaging means to effect successive advancement of thearticles from said initial starting position to said working positionand to push each article located in said working position into saidother position by a succedding article being advanced into said workingposition; and

third means for successively advancing the articles from said otherposition to a final position.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1; wherein said engaging means compriseslazy-tong linkage means extensible to an open position for engaging withan article in said initial position and collapsible to a closed positionfor positioning the engaged article in said working position, andwherein said actuating means comprises means for alternately extendingand collapsing said linkage means to effect successive advancement ofarticles and preparation for renewed advancement of articles.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2; wherein said actuating meanscomprises a fluid reciprocatory motor connected to said linkage means toalternately extend and collapse said linkage means in response to thereciprocal output motion of said motor.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1; wherein said third means comprisesmeans defining another vertical guideway aligned with said otherposition and receptive of the articles advanced to said other positionfor guiding the articles vertically upward, a set of pawls disposedaround the periphery of said other vertical guideway and jointlyengageable with an article disposed in said other vertical guideway tosupport said article in said final position, means mounting said set ofpawls for pivotal movement together in synchronism to engage with anarticle in said other vertical guideway to thereby support said articlein said final position, and lift means for successively lifting thearticles advanced to said other position along said other verticalguideway to said final position,

1. Apparatus for advancing articles along a path and selectivelypositioning the articles at various positions along the path comprising:first means receptive of a plurality of articles during use of theapparatus for successively positioning the articles in an initialstarting position, said first means comprising means defining a verticalguideway aligned with said initial starting position and receivingtherein during use of the apparatus a vertical stack of articles forguiding the articles vertically downward, a set of claws disposed aroundthe periphery of said guideway and jointly engageable with an article insaid guideway to support said article as well as all the remainingarticles stacked thereupon, means mounting said sete of claws forpivotal movement together in synchronism to disengage from said articleand engage the article stacked thereon thereby allowing the disengagedarticle to drop along said guidway into said initial starting position,and means for effecting synchronous pivotal movement of said set ofclaws; second means coacting with said first means for successivelyadvancing the articles one-by-one from said initial starting positionaloNg a path to a working position and then after a given time delaysuccessively advancing the articles one-by-one from said workingposition along the path to another position, said second meanscomprising extendable and collapsible engaging means for releasablyengaging with an article located in said initial position, meansmounting said engaging means for movement along said path from saidinitial starting position to said working position, and actuating meansfor intermittently extending and collapsing said engaging means toeffect successive advancement of the articles from said initial startingposition to said working position and to push each article located insaid working position into said other position by a succedding articlebeing advanced into said working position; and third means forsuccessively advancing the articles from said other position to a finalposition.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1; wherein said engaging meanscomprises lazy-tong linkage means extensible to an open position forengaging with an article in said initial position and collapsible to aclosed position for positioning the engaged article in said workingposition, and wherein said actuating means comprises means foralternately extending and collapsing said linkage means to effectsuccessive advancement of articles and preparation for renewedadvancement of articles.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 2; wherein saidactuating means comprises a fluid reciprocatory motor connected to saidlinkage means to alternately extend and collapse said linkage means inresponse to the reciprocal output motion of said motor.
 4. Apparatusaccording to claim 1; wherein said third means comprises means defininganother vertical guideway aligned with said other position and receptiveof the articles advanced to said other position for guiding the articlesvertically upward, a set of pawls disposed around the periphery of saidother vertical guideway and jointly engageable with an article disposedin said other vertical guideway to support said article in said finalposition, means mounting said set of pawls for pivotal movement togetherin synchronism to engage with an article in said other vertical guidewayto thereby support said article in said final position, and lift meansfor successively lifting the articles advanced to said other positionalong said other vertical guideway to said final position.